ALLEN PARK T.J. Jones Jersey , Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions were the laughingstock of the league when they drafted wide receivers in the first round three straight years from 2003 to 2005, and none of them panned out for the franchise.Detroit drafted tight ends in the first round twice over the past decade and ended up releasing both players.Putting history aside, it looks as if the Lions need help at tight end and wide receiver during the draft after largely ignoring both positions in recent years. Detroit has the No. 8 selection overall and a total of nine picks, including a pair in each of the last two rounds.Since 2014, Detroit has drafted only one receiver and one tight end and both picks were made two years ago.Receiver Kenny Golladay , a third-rounder, has become a promising player while tight end, Michael Roberts, a fourth-round pick, has not been very productive.The Lions can’t be sure how receiver Marvin Jones will bounce back from a season-ending knee injury and they have only a short-term solution at slot receiver, signing 33-year-old Danny Amendola in free agency.They attempted to address their desperate need at tight end this offseason, signing free agent Jesse James, but they don’t seem to be satisfied.“We’re going to do the best we can to obviously try to improve that situation for us, whether it’s through free agency or the draft,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said.“We’re looking at those guys pretty hard and trying to make sure we get somebody in there that puts as much stress on the defense as possible.”Former Lions general manager Matt Millen believed the NFL was becoming a pass-happy league. Millen did correctly predict the future trend, but he missed on key picks.Quarterback Joey Harrington was a bust as were receivers Charles Rogers and Mike Williams while Roy Williams had a decent career before being traded to Dallas.Fans in the Motor City were not happy the franchise used first-round picks on tight end Ebron in 2014 and Brandon Pettigrew in 2009 and may not like it if general manager Bob Quinn drafts Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson early in the first round.“In all due respect to the fans out there, I can’t take the fan sentiment into who I draft and who I sign Kerry Hyder Jersey ,” Quinn said.Here are other things to watch when Detroit drafts:TRADE TALKQuinn sounds very interested in acquiring extra selections to slide down in the draft in exchange for the No. 8 pick.“There’s a couple of players right at the top that you would obviously would love to have,” Quinn said. “I just don’t think I have enough ammunition to get up there.“I’d rather move back a couple spots.”If Quinn backs up his talk with action and moves down, he may draft a wide receiver such as Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown, Mississippi’s D.K. Metcalf or A.J. Brown.SOUTHERN FLAVORQuinn has drafted seven players from the Southeastern Conference the past two years, including both first- and second-round picks. The trend may continue with him taking LSU linebacker Devin White and Alabama offensive lineman Jonah Williams in the first round.NEW TERRIORTYDetroit reached double digits in losses last year in Patricia’s debut season for the first time since 2012, giving it the No. 8 pick overall. Quinn had the No. 20 pick last year, No. 21 in 2017 and No. 16 three years ago in his debut as a general manager after helping the New England Patriots scout for prospects to take late in the first round for many years.“This is unchartered territory for me,” Quinn said. “I don’t really love it.”BEST AVAILABLEThe Lions addressed many needs in free agency , signing player such as defensive end Trey Flowers and cornerbacks Justin Coleman , to put any position in play during the draft.“With what the board looks like and what our perceived needs are, probably a little bit more pushing toward the best available player,” Quinn said.“I think that’s a good thing. Now, things can change between now and September. But going into it this year, we feel a little bit better about the depth at certain positions.”HELP UP FRONTQuinn might not draft an offensive lineman in the first round for the third time in four years, but it seems likely he will take at least one player to add depth.“It’s a position we studied really hard,” Quinn said. “Our offensive line coaches were out more than in previous years. There’s good depth at that position from the first round all the way down to the fifth and sixth round, a little bit more on the interior.” Yes Zach Zenner Jersey , yes, I know. Why are we giving away a Game Ball to a Detroit Lions team that looked lifeless for a second consecutive week? Well, we do this every week, so get over it.Sure, it’s getting harder and harder to find five worthy candidates for these polls, but we managed to do so for this game against the Minnesota Vikings, and the least you could do is click on a poll for me.Before we get into this week’s candidates, here are the Game Ball standings for the season.(First place in voting gets three points, second place gets two, and third place gets one.)Game Ball standings through Week 8:Kenny Golladay - 9.5Kerryon Johnson - 7Devon Kennard - 3Golden Tate - 3Da’Shawn Hand - 3Matthew Stafford - 3Marvin Jones Jr. - 3Damon Harrison Sr. - 2Frank Ragnow - 2Quandre Diggs - 2Michael Roberts - 2Darius Slay - 1.5Romeo Okwara - 1Damon Harrison Sr.Stats: 6 tackles (1 TFL)Looking at the overall stats, and you wouldn’t think the Lions’ run defense has made any improvements since “Snacks” came to town. They gave up 176 rushing yards and 4.2 per carry against the Seahawks, and 128 yards at 5.6 per carry this week. But those stats are incredibly misleading. Last week, the Lions run defense was much, much better with Harrison on the field, and this week Detroit managed to shut down the Vikings’ run game for almost the entire game. The Lions’ one flub, a 70-yard run by Dalvin Cook, happened when Snacks was off the field. For the other 19 running back rushes in the game Quandre Diggs Jersey , the Vikings gained just 50 yards (2.6 YPC). Marvin Jones Jr.Stats: 6 catches, 66 yardsMarvin Jones may have literally been the only bright spot for the Lions’ inept offense. Jones managed to create space between him and Xavier Rhodes on several occasions, and ended up catching six of his eight targets. That’s a pretty solid day of efficiency for the Lions’ No. 1 receiver. Even his day was far from perfect, though. He had a fumble that could’ve been costly, but fortunately bounced harmlessly out of bounds.Darius SlayStats: 3 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1 INTIn a wastleland of a secondary, Slay still manages to separate himself from the group. Early in the game, Kirk Cousins tried to test Slay a few times, and it mostly did not work out for Minnesota. Slay produced the Lions’ third interception of the year, and their first since Week 3 against the Patriots. He added another pass defended for good measure. Matt PraterStats: 3-for-3 on field goalsThere is only one player on the entire roster that can say he was absolutely perfect for 100 percent of his snaps. That man is Matt Prater. Ezekiel AnsahStats: 1.0 sacksAnsah didn’t get much playing time in this game, as the Lions opted to make him a pass-rush specialist. That being said, picking up a sack on just 12 snaps was a nice reminder of the good old times with Ziggy. Hopefully next week he can return as a full-time defender.